The Nigerian Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators has said that barging activities within the Lagos seaports have failed to address the lingering gridlock along the corridor due to temporary operations at the existing terminals.
The President-General of NAFFAC, Adeyinka Bakare, said this in a chat with Financial Street in Lagos on Thursday.
He harped on the need for the Federal Government to approve designated points for barges to lift cargoes in and out of existing terminals at Apapa and Tincan seaports in Lagos.
Bakere said that ships calling at the terminals, most times, frustrate barging activities, even as he accused the management of the terminals of stopping all barging operations for the vessels to berth.
This, according to him, has created bottlenecks for cargoes to exit or enter the terminal smoothly.
He beckoned the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority to look inwards and create designated points at all the terminals where barging operations exist.
The NAFFAC boss added that the traffic along the corridors could only be surmounted with free flow of consignments through intermodal system of transportation.
“Probably, as we speak, there is no terminal that approves a portion of the berths for barging activities and I think its long overdue for such to be approved.
“Once a cargo-laden vessel is set to berth at the terminal, all barging activities are suspended, and this has not helped in anyway to facilitate trade, coupled with porous condition of the roads.
“As long as the vessel is there, no barge operation can take place again. We want the government to look into this issue and engage the concessionaires on the need to designate some portion of the quay apron for barges to berth and discharge or load consignments, despite that the ship is also at berth,” he said.
